Monday, November 12, 2018

Washington State is one of THREE states that will not get fresh milk for their food banks until April 2019

by Lindsay Morgan Tracy

According to the National Dairy Council, “The body of science indicates that eating nutritious dairy
foods — such as milk, cheese and yogurt — improves bone health, especially in
children and adolescents. They are also associated with a reduced risk of
cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes and lower blood pressure in adults.”

Thank you for letting me share this
piece. Last week after the amazing Poverty to Possibilities summit, I took some
of the leftover muffins to a food bank that was open on the evenings so that
their clients could enjoy them. (As a side note, I love it when food banks are
open during nontraditional times during the week as we know so many folks are
working during the day and can’t hit up a food bank that’s only open 9am –
4pm).

As we recently learned in the ALICE report, 42%
of our county is struggling to make ends meet or they are in poverty. This is
up 10% from two years ago. This is staggering. When many households have to
choose to pay rent, utilities or food, they choose to pay rent/utilities and
will head to a food bank to get food.

Now back to my night after the UWPC
event. I headed to a food bank and got there 10 minutes before it opened. I met
with the warehouse manager and weighed the food and a high school volunteer
immediately started putting the muffins in individual baggies. As I looked up
from the scale, I noticed tons and tons of cereal on the top shelves. OODLES of
cereal?!

My contact was busy working to
accommodate me and our last minute donation and help manage expectations from
the many volunteers in the food bank. Then I couldn’t help but notice the
influx of people into the food bank. Now, this food bank isn’t in an urban
area. It’s rural so people have to take the time to get there. My contact was
busy helping volunteers look for specific items, such as chicken soup as a mom
was looking for some - - either boxed or canned - - for her little girl who was
sick. “Sorry, we don’t have any this week,” I heard. Ugh.

Then I learned that there is no milk
in the state for the food banks. This caused me to pause. The area in the
warehouse that had tons of cereal would be distributed to clients but with no
milk. This made me think that it’s just like giving crayons to kids and then
telling them there was no paper. I
learned that Washington State was one of three states that did not receive bids
from local milk vendors therefore it’s very likely that there will be no fresh
milk for our food banks from last month to March 2019. While there are plans to
work with the dairy industry to get local bids, this is a gap with our food
partners that many people do not know about.

What can we do?

·Help fundraise with “Dollars for
Dairy” for your local food bank - here is an example of what you can do.

·Ask your legislators what they can do
and ask for a timeline.

·Make a monetary donation designated for milk to your local food bank.

·Volunteer time at a food bank.

·Work with United Way’s Hunger-Free
Pierce County initiative to stay abreast of the work.

Dr. Michael McAfee challenged us to
be dogged about our work. YES! He also said we are here because our
institutions have lost their capacity to serve. He was spot on. I got up at 4am
to write this as I know those folks in the food bank are my people. They need
to be of all our people as Dr. McAfee said.

As I left the food bank, I noticed so
many kids outside happily playing in the dark while their parents or caregivers
received food. And then I got in my truck and slowly started to drive away from
the small food bank. It reminded me of the end of the movie Field of Dreams.
There were so many cars in the parking lot and more cars pulling up with their
lights on. As the camera pans up and out, the cars continue for miles. While
the cars didn’t continue for miles in my case, it was lengthy and one where I
hope anyone would be truly uncomfortable. But more importantly, I want people
to act and advocate. I will.